Get Windows 10 Pro option during clean installation

A clean Windows 10 install is the best solution to resolve OS problems that are faced by users after the free upgrade. Many users who have tried clean Windows 10 install were unable to install Windows Pro edition on their computer.

The problem

Microsoft is offering a unified Windows 10 ISO file for Home and Pro users; it means no separate ISO files for Home and Pro users. It means during the installation you should get an option to select between Home and Pro edition. However, the Windows setup automatically installs Windows 10 Home edition and the user does not get the option of selecting Windows Pro edition during the installation.

Note: Windows Home edition users should not try installing Pro edition as your older Windows license key will only work with Windows 10 Pro edition.

How to Get Windows 10 Pro Option During Installation

The solution to this problem is creating an edition configuration (EI.cfg) file and including it in the Windows 10 ISO file. The EI.cfg files tell Windows 10 setup to install Home or Pro edition on your computer. In simple words, after including the EI.cfg file in Windows 10 ISO, the Windows setup will display the prompt asking you to select the Windows 10 edition to be installed. The solution can also be used by Windows users who had Windows 10 home edition installed on their computer but want to force Windows 10 Pro install on their computer.

Steps 1 – Create EI.cfg file

You can use a text editor like Notepad to create configuration files. Here are the steps you need to follow.

Open notepad and copy the following command

[Channel]

Retail

Note: The above command in the EI.cfg file will cause the Windows installation setup to display the prompt where you can select between Home and Pro edition.

Save the file as “EI.cfg”. Don’t’ forget to add quotes in the file name else the notepad will save the EI.cfg as a text file.

Step 2 – Add “EI.cfg” file to Windows 10 ISO

You need to extract the contents of the Windows 10 ISO file and then add the EI.cfg file in it. Then, You need to select a location with at least 5GB space to extract contents of Windows 10 ISO file. You can use any extraction tool like WinZip, WinRAR or 7-zip utility to extract the contents of the ISO file. Here are the steps you need to follow

Right-click Windows 10 ISO file

Select the extraction tool from the menu and select Extract files

The extraction tool will give you the option to select the location to extract contents. Browse to the desired location/folder where you want to extract contents of ISO file.

Click OK

The extraction process should begin. it will take some time to complete, so have patience

Once the extraction process is complete, open the folder with ISO extracted contents.

Navigate to the Sources folder.

Copy the EI.cfg file in Sources folder in ISO extracted content.

Now it’s time to repack the content and create a new Windows 10 ISO file

Create a bootable DVD or USB using the contents in ISO folder with EI.cfg file.

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